In early 2016, oil prices bottomed out and a wave of North American oil producers continued to file bankruptcies at record and alarming rates. Where are we a year later? Oil prices have increased, generally the result of an agreement by OPEC members to reduce output, which based on longstanding distrust among its members, may change at any time. With potential uncertainty amidst, the formalities of Brexit, and President-Elect Donald Trump taking the reins as President on January 20, 2017, the world is unpredictable!

The market’s overall appreciation more than likely positively impacted your overall investment portfolio in 2016, unless of course you happen to own securities (i.e. Boeing or Ford) that were subject to one of Trump’s famous tweets. However, if you were an investor of securities linked to the oil, gas and energy sector in the past couple of years, chances are your account statements still show that many of these securities lost a substantial portion or their entire value of your principal.

In many investments, your principal investment is gone, and depending whether these investments were Master Limited Partnerships (“MLPs”), you have or very soon will receive a K-1 indicating that you may still owe additional taxes – yes, on that same investment that you lost all or most of your principal. This has left many investors simmering!

There have been 114 North American oil producing companies that have filed for bankruptcy since 2015 (www.hanesandboone.com). In 2016, some of these companies emerged out of chapter 11 bankruptcy and by all indications, the future may seem rosy again for employees, company executives (many of whom negotiated some handsome golden parachutes prior to bankruptcy), and new investors who may now be willing to accept some exposure to the oil industry that has proven risky for many retail investors.

However, many investors in securities tied to the oil, gas and energy sector will be left with little or nothing, and in some instances, they will have additional tax liability to boot.

Contact us if You’ve Suffered Oil and Gas Investment Losses

The Securities Arbitration and Investment Litigation Lawyers at the Silver Law Group, The Law Office of David Chase, LLC and Ciklin Lubitz & O’Connell (www.oilgasfinraarbitration.com) are currently investigating cases relating to financial services firms that sold you investments in oil, gas and energy linked securities such as corporate bonds, preferred stocks, Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”), Unit Investment Trusts (“UITs”), Structured Products and Master Limited Partnerships (“MLPs”).

If your broker or investment advisor and their firm advised you to invest in a security linked to the oil, gas or energy industry, and you have incurred substantial losses, please contact us at www.oilgasfinraarbitration.com for a no-cost case evaluation. Become informed about your rights, explore whether you have a claim and see if we can be of assistance in trying to recover your investment losses. Cases are taken on a contingency fee basis, meaning no attorney’s fee is owed if there is no recovery.

Our lawyers have collectively represented hundreds of investors in FINRA or securities arbitration claims and recovered millions of dollars from large and regional brokerage firms. For more information about the Law Firms, the lawyers, and the oil and gas investment practice area, please visit the oil and gas investor’s website at: www.oilgasfinraarbitration.com. You can also contact toll-free Mr. Silver at: (800) 975-4345 for a confidential, no-cost consultation to discuss your potential for recovery of your investment losses. Our attorneys represent clients nationwide in securities cases to recover investment losses. No fee unless we obtain a recovery for you.